Delicious Homemade Barley Bread
Delicious Homemade Barley BreadDid you know that barley is one of the most nutritious grains out there? They are full of Betaglycogen, which keeps your blood sugar levels and cholesterol normal and healthy, and they also contains lots of fiber, vitamin B and E, iron and zink. Unfortunately this grain, at least here in Norway, is mostly fed to livestock, so now we want to help people with ideas on how to use more barley. You can make burgers, use it in salads or use it as rice for dinner. Or you can bake this amazing bread.
Note: the dough can be a bit challenging to work with, as the cooked barley tend to be sticky and all over the place. But it was not a problem using a Kenwood and adding just enough flour for the dough to be kneadable. The barley shows all around the bread and gives it a rustic and cool appearance.
And yes – the baking time is only 30 minutes.
Ingredients for 2 breads:
- 300 grams uncooked whole barley
- 500 grams all purpose flour or spelt flour
- 200 grams whole wheat flour
- Handful of sunflower seeds or walnuts (can be omitted)
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp dry yeast
- 500 ml luke warm water
- More all purpose flour if needed
This is how you do it:
Cook the barley after the instructions on the package. Let them cool.
Add all ingredients into a kitchen machine and knead into a smooth and slightly sticky dough. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky, but remember that the bread can get dry and crumbly if you add too much flour. Let the dough be a little sticky.
Let it rise for 1 hour or longer if you can. Mine raised for 2 hours, but 1 hour should be enough. Cut the dough in 2 and form 2 loaves, or grease two large loaf pans and put the dough in them. Let the breads rise again for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 450 F and let the breads bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown on the surface. Take them out and let them cool completely before slicing. I like to slice them up and freeze right away, that way I can take out 2-3 slices of bread whenever I need them. They thaw quickly if you place them on the kitchen counter.
